until the neurons axons are fully myelinated, especially in the angular gyrus region of the brain, children can’t read well, if at all

the angular gyrus isn’t fully myelinated until sometime after the 5th year, and prior to the 7th year.

the angular gyrus, when fully myelinated, allows many different functions to come together and be quickly transmitted

the process occurs more quickly in girls

reading, as opposed to decoding, follows this developmental process

The question then is this: can very young children, Kindergartners, be forced to read? It’s not likely. They can, however, be supported as they are exposed to and gather the information that will allow them to read.

Kindergartners can learn to decode words, and are certainly able to memorize pages from a short book. Comprehension about what they are decoding is rare. Decoding is a necessary step on the road to reading. Comprehension is reading.

Kindergartners can remember a short word list. Around 25 is pretty much OK, by the end of Kindergarten. To require that they either understand what the words are, or be able to use them consistently in sentences is absurd. The idea that these very young children should know 100 words in order to be ready for first grade is patently insane. It is strange enough to require first graders to know 100 words.

If Kindergartners are read to on a regular basis, given books to look at, exposed to the printed word, are included in participating in predictable books, and are read familiar stories more than once, they quickly get the idea that all those squiggles on a page mean something. Their natural curiosity kicks in, and they are on the path to reading—all in their own time. Yes, some Kindergartners actually do learn to read. It’s got everything to do with the myelination process.

First grade children are at a more developmentally appropriate age to begin to read. They will do so at varying rates. Nothing about children happens in lock-step with other children. The process of teaching these children to read is a very complicated endeavor.

Good teachers know that everyone moves at their own rate, though some just give lip service to the idea. The really good ones actually know how to support these different rates, and are comfortable with how children progress.

The really good first and second grade teachers will recognize when one of their students has hit a ceiling. Rather than blindly insisting on the next level, they go back, re-teach, re-teach, re-teach until that child reaches the next level. It’s been called laddering, scaffolding, framing, circling, supportive reading, and so on.

Regardless of the edu-speak word or phrase du jour, it involves a couple of really important issues: teachers who absolutely know what they are doing, and who understand and embrace the developmental growth of their students. The ceilings that the children hit have to do with the myelination process, and being continually supported through this growth process allows them to jump to the next level of proficiency as soon as their brains are ready to do so.

It is vitally important that teachers of K through third grade students acknowledge and support the developmental processes that all children must go through as they grow. Unrealistic expectations do nothing more than frustrate teachers and parents, and can do irreparable harm to very young children.

Young children who are pushed by adults to things they are developmentally unable to do are likely to exhibit burn out in third grade. It is a long way from third grade to high school graduation.

It is important for those in educational policy making positions to actually be familiar with the developmental processes. They, of all people, should understand the myelination process, and act accordingly. Mostly, they do not.

Someone has to stand up for the children. Parents and teachers are in the best position to insist on developmentally appropriate practices when it comes to their young children. The politicians quite obviously do not.